Knights rally to earn expansion-record-tying 33rd win

Reuters Staff

2 Min Read

Eric Haula and Jonathan Marchessault stunned the Flames with goals 10 seconds apart late in the third period, and the visiting Vegas Golden Knights scored three times during a 53-second span to beat Calgary 4-2 Tuesday night.

The Flames held a 2-1 lead with less than two minutes remaining in regulation time and looked poised to snap a slide of four straight losses in extra time. However, the Golden Knights pulled off a magic trick any Vegas entertainer would envy.

Moments after Haula evened the count with 1:45 remaining, Marchessault potted the winner that shocked everybody in the Scotiabank Saddledome. David Perron added an empty-netter with 53 seconds left to round out the scoring.

The Golden Knights, who sit atop the Pacific Division and Western Conference, won for the 33rd time this season, which ties them with both the 1993-94 Florida Panthers and 1993-94 Anaheim Mighty Ducks for the most wins by a first-year expansion team.

Reilly Smith opened the scoring for the Golden Knights, who received a 31-save performance from goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. Smith, Marchessault and William Karlsson all had two-point games in the victory, while Haula and Perron both extended their point streaks to six games, during which they have netted eight points apiece.

Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk scored second-period goals for Calgary, which erased a 1-0 deficit only to see a victory seemingly disappear in the blink of an eye and tumbled outside of a playoff position. Tkachuk has scored seven goals in eight games.

Mike Smith stopped 31 shots for the Flames, who said goodbye to sure-fire Hall of Fame winger Jaromir Jagr after he cleared waivers. Jagr is now heading home to play in the Czech Republic. Calgary, However, welcome back Jagr’s countryman, Michael Frolik, who missed a dozen games due to a broken jaw. Frolik assisted on Tkachuk’s goal.